Skip the gym class: 5 standing exercises that help target belly pooch after 55.
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Some weeks, the most effective workout is simply the one you can do before the day gets busy. I’ve trained many clients over 55 who genuinely enjoy fitness classes, but the people who stay consistent often keep a quick standing workout ready to go at home. When the goal is reducing belly pooch, that kind of repeatable routine can make a real difference.
Standing exercises immediately bring more of your body into the workout. Moves like reverse lunges, step-ups, high knees, and squat-to-press repetitions challenge your legs while your core works to stabilize you through every shift in position. The result feels energetic and athletic, yet each movement can be adjusted to match your fitness level.
Of course, the change you see around your waist depends on the bigger picture. Regular strength training, more daily movement, and a sustainable calorie intake all play key roles in fat loss after 55. A short standing exercise routine supports that plan by giving you a convenient way to build intensity without relying on a gym class schedule.
The five standing moves below offer a simple plan for days when getting to class just isn’t realistic. By combining lower-body strength, conditioning, and full-body power, this workout helps you feel productive and engaged within the first few minutes.
Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive
Start with this when you want a strong lower-body move that also engages the waist. The reverse lunge loads the front leg, then the knee drive brings your core and hip flexors into the finish. It’s especially useful for belly-pooch goals because the movement raises effort without needing floor work. Hold a wall or chair lightly if you need a little help with balance.
Muscles Trained: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, abs, hip flexors.
How to Do It
- Stand tall with your feet under your hips.
- Step one foot back into a reverse lunge.
- Bend both knees to a comfortable depth.
- Press through your front foot to stand.
- Drive your back knee forward toward your chest.
- Step back into the next rep and continue before switching sides.
Recommended Sets and Reps: Perform 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps per side.
Best Variations: Step-back tap with knee drive, supported reverse lunge to knee drive, reverse lunge without the knee drive.
Form Tip: Keep your front foot planted as you drive back to standing.
Box Step-Up
Step-ups bring a practical strength challenge into a belly-focused workout. Each rep makes one leg lift your body while your core helps you stay tall through the climb. Choose a low box or sturdy step so the movement feels smooth from the floor to the top. If you feel yourself pushing hard off the back foot, lower the height and make the working leg earn the rep.
Muscles Trained: Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, abs.
How to Do It
- Stand facing a sturdy box or step.
- Place one foot fully on top.
- Press through that foot to stand on the box.
- Bring your other foot up with control.
- Step back down slowly.
- Complete your reps before switching sides.
Recommended Sets and Reps: Perform 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per side.
Best Variations: Low step-up, supported step-up, step-up with knee drive.
Form Tip: Pause briefly at the top to keep each rep controlled.
Squat Jump
A little power can change the feel of the whole workout. Squat jumps raise your heart rate fast and turn a basic lower-body pattern into a more athletic effort. Keep the jump low and land softly, especially if you’re newer to impact. Aim for a crisp rep, not a big jump that feels hard to control.
Muscles Trained: Quads, glutes, calves, abs.
How to Do It
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees and lower into a comfortable squat.
- Swing your arms slightly behind you.
- Drive through your feet and jump straight up.
- Land softly with your knees slightly bent.
- Reset and repeat.
Recommended Sets and Reps: Perform 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps.
Best Variations: Squat to calf raise, low squat jump, bodyweight squat.
Form Tip: Land quietly and reset your balance before the next rep.
High Knees
High knees add a quick conditioning hit to the routine. The pace raises your heart rate, while each knee lift keeps your abs engaged. Start with marching high knees if running in place feels too aggressive. Once the rhythm feels clean, increase the tempo and keep your posture tall.
Muscles Trained: Abs, hip flexors, quads, calves, glutes.
How to Do It
- Stand tall with your feet under your hips.
- Brace your core lightly.
- Lift one knee toward your waist.
- Lower that foot to the floor.
- Lift the opposite knee.
- Continue alternating at a steady pace.
Recommended Sets and Reps: Perform 2 to 3 sets of 20 to 40 seconds.
Best Variations: Marching high knees, supported high knees, faster high knees.
Form Tip: Keep your chest tall as your knees lift.
5 Shelved Movies Like Coyote vs. Acme That Finally Escaped Hollywood Limbo
Ketchup Entertainment
In November 2023, Warner Bros. abruptly pulled the plug on “Coyote vs. Acme,” arriving just a year after the studio’s notorious “Batgirl” decision, when that nearly completed DC film was scrapped deep into post-production. The move sparked anger and sympathy across the industry and around the world. After all, how does a finished movie built around some of the most iconic Looney Tunes characters end up locked away? For months, the outlook was bleak, with “Coyote vs. Acme” seemingly destined to remain unseen. Then Ketchup Entertainment stepped in, acquired the film, and set it on course for a significant theatrical release.
The behind-the-scenes drama quickly became inseparable from the film itself, shaping nearly every conversation around “Coyote vs. Acme.” But while its situation felt shocking, it was not unprecedented. Hollywood has a long history of completing movies only to bury them for years, leaving casts, crews, and filmmakers to watch their finished work collect dust. “Coyote vs. Acme” now joins a frustrating lineage of projects that were finished, shelved, and only later given a chance to reach audiences.
The reasons these films were abandoned vary widely, as do the circumstances that eventually brought them back into public view. Some were trapped by corporate uncertainty, others by creative interference or shifting release strategies. Whatever the cause, each case foreshadowed the kind of turbulent journey “Coyote vs. Acme” would face before making its way toward the big screen.
Fanboys
The Weinstein Company
Among the many damaging chapters in The Weinstein Company’s history was its habit of failing to release films on schedule. These delays were rarely the result of filmmakers carefully polishing their work. More often, interference from Harvey and Bob Weinstein, along with other executives, created disorder behind the scenes. One notorious example was “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil,” which was postponed so late that its Burger King tie-in toys arrived 15 months before the film itself. Other Weinstein Company or Dimension Films titles hit by excessive delays included “Amityville: The Awakening,” “Tulip Fever,” “The Road,” “Escape from Planet Earth,” “3 Generations,” and, most famously in fan circles, “Fanboys.”
Directed by Kyle Newman and co-written by future “Ready Player One” author Ernest Cline, “Fanboys” centers on a group of geeks in 1998 who learn that one of their closest friends is dying of cancer and decide to break into Skywalker Ranch so he can see “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” before its release. The film was initially slated for 2007, but The Weinstein Company later yanked it from the calendar, prompting loud backlash from fans. Harvey Weinstein repeatedly delayed the movie in an effort to reshoot it, strip out the cancer storyline, and push the material toward raunchier comedy. In the end, the cancer plot remained, though many of the crude gags Weinstein wanted were added anyway, frustrating the creative team behind the film.
Years after “Fanboys” finished shooting, The Weinstein Company dumped it into a handful of theaters in February 2009. Another botched release from an endlessly embarrassing studio.
Accidental Love
Alchemy
Jake Gyllenhaal’s best movies have rightfully cultivated the performer a tremendously positive reputation. However, his worst efforts show that, like any actor, not every Gyllenhaal star vehicle is a winner. Then there’s one of the oddest movies in his filmography, the 2015 direct-to-video title “Accidental Love.” This project began life as a David O. Russell film called “Nailed,” which started shooting in early 2008, a little over two years after Gyllenhaal garnered career-best reviews for “Brokeback Mountain.” This star-studded title, which also starred Jessica Biel, Catherine Keener, James Marsden, and Tracy Morgan, aimed to be a conventional wide release comedy.
Then, chaos struck. After money troubles kept plaguing (and sometimes shutting down) filming, “Nailed” was unable to finish its last two days of shooting. This included capturing a pivotal sequence involving the protagonist accidentally getting a nail sent through her head. Thus, the feature was left in limbo, with Russell washing his hands of the endeavor (he’s credited under a pseudonym in the film’s final credits).
It looked like “Nailed” would remain an unseen boondoggle, However, Millennium Entertainment acquired the title in 2014, gave it the new moniker “Accidental Love,” and released it in early 2015. Reviews were dismal, but hey, at least some version of “Nailed” was unveiled to the public.
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Roar
Drafthouse Films
In a nutshell, “Roar” was a passion project for writer/director/star Noel Marshall and his wife (and fellow “Roar” star) Tippi Hendren. Their desire to make a movie highlighting the humanity of big cats led to the Marshall’s housing countless wild animals in their home. The plan was to film an independent feature focused on these critters and starring members of the Marshall family (including Melanie Griffith).
In execution, the film took years to produce, was besieged by endless problems (including weather woes and troubles getting the cats to perform on-camera), and faced further issues in securing distribution. While the project hit the big screen in a scant few international territories, “Roar” initially didn’t reach theaters in North America. This absolutely cursed enterprise, which was completed at the dawn of the 1980s, sat on a shelf for decades before Drafthouse Films finally gave it a theatrical run in 2015.
Taking so long to get released meant that its $17 million budget was never recouped. The Marshalls spent so much money and endangered countless animals and people for something that struggled to even get seen.
Night of the Ghouls
Wade Williams Productions
Every Ed Wood movie reeks of unfortunate compromise. Wood never lacked imagination, ambition, or gusto in his cinematic exploits. However, his titles were always constricted by, among other problems, hazardously tiny budgets, strange dialogue, and baffling visual impulses. Still, Wood’s commitment to his craft was always admirable. He gave even the most outlandish or laugh-inducing B-movie 100% of his energy. Tragically, one of his works, “Night of the Ghouls,” was so besieged by financial problems that it took decades for it to be seen by the public.
Shot in 1958, Wood lacked the moolah necessary to get “Night of the Ghouls” completed. With that, Wood moved on to other films, before passing away in 1978. Beyond a legacy of cheapie movies that were both widely mocked and beloved, Wood also left behind those “Night of the Ghouls” negatives that still needed to be processed. A wealthy figure named Wade Williams eventually used his dollars to get “Night of the Ghouls” completed, with the feature properly debuting in 1984 on VHS. It took a staggering 26 years since the first frame of footage was shot, but one last Ed Wood movie escaped into the world.
To many, “Night of the Ghouls,” devoid of context, is another hastily cobbled together ’50s B-movie. However, “Ghouls” even being viewable is a triumph given its endless production problems.
Clifford
Orion Pictures
When Orion Pictures was first founded, it was meant to be a haven for artists. Unfortunately, by the dawn of the 1990s, its financial woes ensured that Orion was impeding rather than bolstering new films. By December 1991, Orion filed for bankruptcy, a move that left several features at the studio in limbo . One of those titles was “Clifford,” a Martin Short/Charles Grodin comedy about the most devious youngster ever put on the silver screen. Martin Short has encountered every kind of challenge imaginable in his career. Yet even the delays that “Clifford” endured were a new level of arduous for him.
First filmed in 1990, “Clifford,” along with a handful of other Orion films, had to sit on a shelf as the studio’s financial woes were sorted out. Once the film’s momentum was punctured, it was nearly impossible to get the ball rolling again. This title wouldn’t debut until 1994. Timing is everything in comedy, and “Clifford” never got to prosper in that regard. Adding insult to injury, after all those delays, “Clifford” received scathing reviews from critics across the board.
Decades later, “Clifford” has begun cultivating a solid cult fanbase. It took forever to do so, but if any movie knows about playing the long game, it’s “Clifford.”
Devoted Father Killed by Falling Sign at Christian Music Festival
A father and church pastor has died after a sign collapsed on him during strong winds at a Christian music festival.
Robert Guanco, 41, was killed on Friday when a large wooden archway came down at the Big Church Festival, which was being held on the Wiston Estate near Steyning in West Sussex.
Six other people were hurt in the incident, four of whom were taken to hospital for treatment.
Mr Guanco, who lived in Eastbourne, East Sussex, served as pastor at Jesus Living Water Church in the local area.
In a statement, the church said: ‘Pastor Robert was a faithful servant of God, a loving husband to Isay, a devoted and caring father to Ellie, and a blessing to so many people whose lives he touched.
‘His life, his faith, his love, and his service to God will never be forgotten.’
Police are now examining whether or not the structure was properly secured before it collapsed.
Fred Abbott, from Morden, south London, was sat just yards away with his young family when a ‘strong gust of wind’ toppled the sign. The father of four then rushed over to help save those crushed underneath.
Robert Guanco, 41, died when a huge wooden archway gave way at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex on Friday
A sign that read ‘Everything’s Unmissable’ fell at the Big Church Festival on Friday
Fred Abbott, from Morden, south London, was sat metres away with his young family when a ‘strong gust of wind’ is believed to have toppled the sign
‘We were by Tom’s Stage in the Field of Fun, about 20 metres away from where this massive wooden sign was,’ Mr Abbott said.
‘We heard this massive crack and bang, and me and my friend ran over. There were around 30 to 50 people, including me and my friend, picking up this sign. It read: “Everything’s Unmissable”.’
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Still ‘shaken’ from the incident, the project manager added: ‘There were five people on the floor and not moving.
‘I had to walk away because there was a man on the floor and he was bleeding from his head and from his mouth.’
The Met Office had urged festivalgoers across the country to prepare for windy conditions over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Its weather map showed wind speeds of up to 27mph in Shoreham, West Sussex, on Friday afternoon.
In a statement on Friday evening, Big Church Festival said it was ‘devastated’ at the death of one of its attendees in a ‘serious incident’.
An aerial view of campers at the festival, which was due to be attended by around 40,000 people
An aerial view of Big Church Festival held on the Wiston Estate near Steyning in West Sussex
Organisers said the decision had been made to cancel the rest of the event, which was due to run until Sunday, after the death on opening day.
More than 60 music artists and worship leaders were due to perform across multiple stages, including author Andrew Ollerton.
Detective Chief Superintendent Richard McDonagh, of Sussex Police, previously said: ‘This is a tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the man’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.
‘I recognise the immense distress this will have caused people at the festival, and we are working with a number of partners as we seek to establish exactly what happened.
‘We’re urging anyone with information to come forward.’
Southern Maine Shark Sightings Surge as Experts Reveal Why
A summer of shark sightings in Maine
Authorities are asking beachgoers to use extra caution along the southern Maine coast after multiple white sharks were captured on camera. Researchers say reports of white shark activity have climbed this year, though the uptick may be tied as much to ideal beach conditions and increased public attention as to the actual number of sharks in the water.
SCARBOROUGH, Maine – White shark sightings have become a growing concern this summer in southern Maine, prompting local law enforcement to remind swimmers, surfers and shoreline visitors to stay alert after several sharks were documented on video and camera.
Marine researchers say there have been more reported white shark sightings this season, but they caution that the numbers may be influenced by sunny weather drawing larger crowds to the beach and by more people intentionally scanning the water for signs of sharks.
“I would say there’s no question that there’s been a lot more sightings this year. Does that translate into a higher number of sharks is a little bit of a nuanced question. There’s a lot of things to consider in there,” said Dr. Walt Golet, assistant professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine.
A warning sign alerts visitors to shark sightings at Pine Point Beach in Maine. (Amy Galo)
“While sighting reports are very helpful, the number of sightings reported to us is often influenced by nice weather and the number of people at the beach,” said Matt Davis, marine resource scientist at the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “We’ve had great weather this year for beach tourism, and we also have a number of people with drones actively looking for sharks, so sightings are high.”
Daryen Granata, harbor master and marine resource officer for the town of Scarborough, said the police department began receiving numerous shark sighting reports in early July. Several were captured on video.
“They were off of Pine Point Beach for a substantial amount of time,” said Granata. “They’ve kind of migrated now. They’re more off the Scarborough Beach State Park and Higgins Beach area at this point. We’re still seeing them on a daily basis. Still to this day, and it’s been, you know, three weeks at this point.”
People walk along the shore at a beach in Scarborough, Maine. (Amy Galo)
Granata, who has lived in Scarborough for more than 30 years, said shark sightings have become much more common in recent years, especially sightings of juvenile sharks. But whether that means there are actually more sharks in the Gulf of Maine is less clear.
“We have all this drone technology. We have all the cell phone videos. We’ve got a lot of higher-grade technology than we did, you know, 10 or 15, 20 years ago. So we’re seeing them,” said Granata.
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Granata said the police department captures its own drone footage of sharks, as do independent photographers and beachgoers. Social media has added another stream of reported sightings, all of which can contribute to the perception that there are more sharks in the area.
“Previously, people weren’t looking for sharks with the same intensity or aerial equipment,” said Davis.
Researchers say white shark populations have been slowly recovering for decades after the federal government put protections in place in the 1990s. Maine’s seal population has also grown, providing a key food source for white sharks.
“It’s very possible that the number of white sharks we see now is more reflective of their natural population size, or at least the closest it’s been to the natural population size in several decades,” explained Davis. “Think of this as a population success story in that the ocean is regaining one of its apex predators to help balance the food chain.”
“If you protect the food and protect the predator, it makes sense that you see this rebound especially since the generation time for white sharks is about 25 to 30 years,” said Golet. “I also think that there’s a lot of bait around along the Maine coast in the form of striped bass and Atlantic menhaden, both of which are eaten by juvenile white sharks, which is what we have in high numbers.”
Researchers say warming ocean temperatures could eventually lead sharks to remain in the Gulf of Maine for longer periods. That could make frequent shark sightings a more regular occurrence along the coast.
Beachgoers enjoy the warm weather at Pine Point Beach. (Amy Galo)
“There are definitely more sharks in Maine than I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” said Kelsey Donohue, who’s lived in Scarborough her whole life. “Like growing up here, we used to joke around about sharks, but we would be like, ‘oh, we live in Maine, so we never see sharks!'”
“This really is the first time that I’ve heard for Pine Point that we had a shark sighting,” said Betty MacLeod, longtime Scarborough resident.
The Scarborough Police Department is urging people to stay vigilant while in the water.
Officials recommend that people swimming in areas where sharks have been spotted avoid dawn and dusk, when sharks can be more active, and never swim alone. They also recommend avoiding murky water and remaining in waist-deep water or shallower.
Beachgoers with open wounds should stay out of the water. Officials also advise swimmers to remove jewelry before entering the water.
“Just be cognizant of what you’re doing and where you are,” said Granata. “Just have good situational awareness, that’s all.”
Yolanda Herrera Cold Case: Police Name Suspect After 45 Years
Forty-five years after Yolanda Herrera vanished while walking home from a Texas bar, investigators say they have finally identified the man responsible for her killing.
Universal City Police Department Lt. Stephen Rios said during an Aug. 25 press conference that Kelly Lee Brower has been arrested on a capital murder charge after DNA evidence from the 1981 crime scene was matched to him.
“This is a testament,” Rios said, “to the commitment of all those involved that after 45 years we have made an arrest in the murder of Yolanda Herrera.”
What Happened to Yolanda Herrera?
Herrera disappeared in the early morning hours of April 11, 1981, as she made her way back to her home in Universal City, Texas, after leaving a bar.
Two days later, police said, two young children walking to school found her body near a greenbelt off East Aviation Boulevard.
“She was nude and appeared to have been beaten,” Rios explained. “An autopsy ruled her death as a homicide due to multiple blunt force injuries.”
Investigators also found evidence that she’d been sexually assaulted. During her autopsy, Rios said authorities collected DNA evidence from underneath her fingernails and a semen sample.
For years, investigators worked the case, but were unable to link the death to any suspects.
Police Arrest Kelly Lee Brower in Killing of Yolanda Herrera
In 2021, investigators used advancing DNA technology to get the profile of a male suspect from the evidence in the case and tested it against saliva samples of potential suspects, but found no match.
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That same year, the DNA profile was sent to Bode laboratories for genealogical testing. The company was able to tell detectives they were likely searching for a suspect with the surname “Brower,” but they were unable to link it to a specific individual and no additional DNA tests could be performed at the time due to dwindling sample, Rios said.
Then, in 2025, Universal City Police sent the sample to Othram laboratories who were able to identify Brower as the possible suspect using genetic genealogy.
After learning that Brower was living in Universal City at the time of the murder, Rios said they obtained Brower’s DNA sample and matched it to the crime scene evidence.
Detectives traveled to Cottonwood, Ariz. to speak with Brower in 2026. According to Rios, he confessed to the crime.
“It appeared that it happened to be like an opportunity,” Corporal Catilin Brown added at the press conference. “She happened to be there walking home. He happened to be at the bar and saw her. So we don’t have any indication that he knew her or she knew him.”
She added that although Brower had a prior arrest for larceny, there was “nothing that would lead us to believe that he would be capable of this.”
Brower is expected to be extradited to Texas. It’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
For investigators, the arrest comes after decades of work to solve the case.
“It’s just it’s a rewarding feeling to know that that we never gave up on Yolanda for her or for her family,” University City Assistant Chief Steve Mihalski said. “There were often times that that we hit dead ends, and you get frustrated, and you wish for more, and you hope more comes along, and then it’s just a waiting game. But we never stopped. We never, never stopped trying.”
Bill Maher Mocks Liberal Backlash Over ‘Lake America’ Controversy
Comedian Bill Maher took a swipe at liberals upset over President Donald Trump’s move to rename Lake Ontario, joking that the left is hardly unfamiliar with changing names to suit a political message.
During Friday’s opening monologue on HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher riffed on Trump’s decision to rebrand one of the Great Lakes as “Lake America” amid a continuing trade dispute with Canada.
“Trump is so mad at Canada he renamed Lake Ontario Lake America,” Maher quipped. “Now I gotta buy a new globe again.”
“It’s like the fifth time it’s happened,” he continued, alluding to Trump’s earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
The joke came as trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada collapsed late Friday, with Washington pressing ahead with 50% tariffs on Canadian goods.
Maher then took aim at liberal outrage over the president’s decision, suggesting critics of Trump’s move had embraced politically driven changes in terminology themselves.
“The liberals are very pissed at this,” Maher quipped. “They say you can’t just go around changing things to fit your political agenda. Just ask any Latinx birthing person.”
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Trump signed the executive order renaming the lake from the Oval Office on Thursday, telling reporters, “This is official, effective immediately.”
Maher’s criticism was echoed by NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck, who told Fox News Digital that liberals’ willingness to embrace new terminology undermines their criticism of Trump’s latest decision.
“The fact that ‘Latinx’ and ‘birthing person’ are increasingly accepted as a punchline rather than a serious demographic statement should give all of us hope that ‘Woke 1’ is dead, and we’re never going back to that farcical time,” Houck told Fox News Digital.
“If only the liberal, elitist media could more consistently get the picture,” he continued. “The left needs to take a seat before they can say anything about anything being renamed.”
The sentiment was echoed by NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham.
“Liberals want to rename all kinds of things to satisfy their urge for wokeness,” Graham told Fox News Digital. “Just in this decade, they’ve pulled down all kinds of statues and renamed scads of military bases. What they hate is anything Trump does to add a patriotic pro-America tinge to something which they associate more with his ego than with patriotism. They see red — as in a red MAGA cap.
“The media routinely genuflect ethnic and LGBTQ pressure groups and their demands to remake the language we’re all supposed to use,” he continued. “So, they can’t seriously object to renaming things. They just want to be the only people who get to rename things.”
Dick Van Dyke, 100, Stuns Fans With Upside-Down Workout in New Video
Dick Van Dyke continues to make a compelling case for the power of staying active, proving that a steady mix of exercise and stretching can help preserve mobility well into the milestone age of 100.
The Mary Poppins legend was up to his old tricks as he shared an Instagram video of himself strapped upside down to an inversion table, the hashtag ‘keep moving’ added for positive reinforcement.
With his signature white hair and beard, the beloved entertainer appeared to turn back the clock as he stretched with his slippered feet lifted high and his head lowered, using the move to decompress his spine and keep his body limber.
Adding a fitting soundtrack to the moment, Moonspatz’s song Keep Stretching played in the background, underscoring the routine’s playful but purposeful tone.
Van Dyke’s commitment to fitness is well established. The screen legend is known to visit the gym as often as three times a week, where he uses weight machines, completes circuit training and focuses heavily on stretching, with abdominal exercises playing a key role in maintaining his overall strength.
Although Van Dyke recently used a walker while out with his wife, Arlene Silver, his energy in the gym has become part of his legend. According to the Today show, Cheers star Ted Danson once saw him dancing between machines instead of simply walking, and singer Rick Springfield reportedly witnessed the same lively approach on another occasion.
Dick Van Dyke was up to his old tricks as he shared an Instagram video of himself strapped upside down to an inversion table along with the hashtag ‘keep moving’
The Mary Poppins legend has shown time and time again that a consistent workout and stretching routine is what it takes to stay mobile at 100 years old. Above, Van Dyke in 2021 attending the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C.
In December, Van Dyke celebrated his milestone 100th birthday.
To mark the special occasion, his wife led a flash mob in dancing to a medley of the actor’s songs, and they were joined by family and friends for a party at their Malibu home.
‘It went so perfect — just everything,’ Arlene told People at the time. ‘And he was so happy. His face, I love to make him have that face. This felt so perfect.’
The former make-up artist, 54, admitted she felt ‘relieved, grateful and so happy’ with how the day turned out.
Van Dyke recently credited his long years to giving up cigarettes and alcohol in his 50s.
Speaking at the Vandy High Tea fundraising event – which raised money for The Van Dyke Endowment of the Arts and The Dick Van Dyke Museum – at his home, the song and dance man told how he was ‘probably the last person alive’ who got to know and spend time with Walt Disney before the animation legend died of lung cancer in 1966.
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‘He was a wonderful guy. He just smoked too much! Doggone,’ he said, according to People.
Van Dyke’s son, Barry Van Dyke, 75, noted his dad had ‘never smoked too much’ himself, but The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star admitted that wasn’t the case.
Van Dyke defied gravity as he stretched and decompressed his spine with slippered feet raised high and his head hanging while Keep Stretching, a song by Moonspatz, played on the soundtrack
In December, Van Dyke celebrated his milestone 100th birthday and to mark the special occasion, his wife, Arlene Silver, led a flash mob in dancing to a medley of the actor’s songs. Above, Van Dyke and Arlene in 2021 attending the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C.
The song and dance man recently credited his longevity to giving up cigarettes and alcohol in his 50s. Above, Van Dyke pictured in 2021 in Malibu, California
But Van Dyke admitted he feels ‘lonely’ and ‘frustrated’ in his old age because he’s outlived most of his best friends. Above, Van Dyke in a scene from the 1964 classic Mary Poppins with, L to R, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber and Julie Andrews
‘I smoked a lot, actually!’ Van Dyke corrected. ‘I think I was probably in my 50s before it dawned on me that I had an addictive personality. If I liked something, I was going to overdo it.
‘So I got rid of booze and cigarettes and all that stuff, which is probably why I’m still here.’
But Van Dyke admitted he feels ‘lonely’ and ‘frustrated’ in his old age because he’s outlived most of his best friends and he rarely gets to attend glitzy showbiz events because of his declining health.
‘Though I still do guest spots on TV, and ads and videos, I miss going to the studio every day for a regular series. And every single one of my dearest lifelong friends is gone, which feels just as lonely as it sounds,’ as he revealed in an article written for The Times newspaper.
He added: ‘It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially.
‘I get invites to events or offers for gigs in New York or Chicago, but that kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no. Almost all of my visiting with folks has to happen at my house.’
Tinubu Explains Why US Should Not Release His FBI Records
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, acting through his legal representatives, has asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the public disclosure of his unredacted records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to court filings made public on Saturday, Tinubu argued that the documents are protected under the US Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act, maintaining that their release is not supported by any overriding public interest.
His lawyers also claimed the request was driven by political considerations, alleging that Aaron Greenspan, an American transparency activist who brought the case, had ulterior motives in seeking records that mention the President’s name.
The legal team further contended that the materials fall under privacy protections provided by FOIA and the US Privacy Act, specifically citing Exemption 7(C), which shields personal information contained in law enforcement records from disclosure.
“The asserted ‘public interest in Tinubu’s own fitness for office’ is not an interest FOIA recognises or one that needs to be balanced. The redacted information sought by the plaintiff is exempt from disclosure.”
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Greenspan had requested the release of the records under the US FOIA, arguing that his request concerned the sitting President of Nigeria and the millions of Nigerians whose lives are affected by Tinubu’s decisions.
However, Tinubu’s lawyers rejected the argument that Nigerians’ interest in the President’s background constituted a public interest recognised under US law. They maintained that FOIA was intended to provide information about government activities rather than private citizens.
The legal team also cited a 1989 US Supreme Court ruling to support its position, arguing that releasing the requested records would reveal little or nothing about the conduct of government agencies.
The development has renewed political debate in Nigeria, with opposition figures insisting that Nigerians deserve greater transparency about the President’s background.